Sweater

How-to Questions
1

Hello I need help. I am making a sweater. It uses 4 colors altogether. I am at the part of using Color A and B. For the Ridged Stripe pattern for the back it says for Row 1: Knit with Color A. Row : Purl with Color A. For Rows 3 and 4 it says knit 4, *slip 2, repeat from * to end with Color B. Since Row 4 is just like Row 3 making it garter stitch, how would I carry the yarn I am not using? Would I carry it in the front since I am knitting and the yarn has to be in front of the needle, the wrong side row is facing me? Also how do you join a new color?

Thank you.

2

Hi ordinarydoor2, welcome to this forum. I think you may have typed the directions incorrectly (easy to do). For rows 3 and 4 you have

it says knit 4, *slip 2, repeat from * to end with Color B.
At the end of that direction it says “Color B” so I assume you are working with Color B on these 2 rows. It says to “k4, *slip 2, repeat from *” With the * where you have it you would be knitting four and then the repeat would just be slip 2 all the time, that can’t be what it says. It sounds like a mosaic pattern where you end up with 2 colors in a row but never work with more than one in the row. You get the two color effect by slipping stitches. Do you just have the asterisk in the wrong place, or does it have something else in there?

You call it a Ridged Stripe, is it all in garter after the first two rows of stockinette (knit a row, purl a row)? Is this pattern anywhere on the internet where you could link us to it? We need a little more information to be able to help you accurately.

3

okay it does says for rows 3 and 4: knit 4, * slip 2, knit 4, rep from * to end. I dont know its in a book.

For the Back it say with smaller needles and Color A, cast on 117 sts for my size. Row 1: K1,*p1,k1, rep from * across row. Work ribbing as established for a total of 14 rows, Inc 1 st on last row. Change to larger needles and work even in Ridged Stripe (Back version) until piece measures approx 16 inches from beg, ending with a WS Row in color B or C.

Ridged Stripes for Back and Sleeves.
Row 1 (rs): With A, knit.
Row 2: With A, purl.
Rows 3 and 4: With B, k4, *sl 2, k4, rep from * to end.
Rows 5 and 6: Rep Rows 1 and 2.
Rows 7 and 8: With C, k1, sl 2, *k4, sl 2, rep from * to last st, k1.
Rows 9-14: Repeat Rows 1-6.
Rows 15 and 16: With D, repeapt Rows 7 and 8.

Repeat Rows 1-16 for pattern.

4

Ridged Stripes for Back and Sleeves.
Row 1 (rs): With A, knit.
Row 2: With A, purl.
Rows 3 and 4: With B, k4, *sl 2, k4, rep from * to end.
Rows 5 and 6: Rep Rows 1 and 2.
Rows 7 and 8: With C, k1, sl 2, *k4, sl 2, rep from * to last st, k1.
Rows 9-14: Repeat Rows 1-6.
Rows 15 and 16: With D, repeapt Rows 7 and 8.

Start out with Color A (CA) and do the cast on and the ribbing and the row of knit and purl (rows 1&2 of the pattern). Then just leave the CA there at the edge and leaving a tail of Color B (CB) just start knitting with it.

Rows 3 and 4: With B, k4, *sl 2, k4, rep from * to end.
Knit 4 with CB then slip 2 purl wise, and k4. Keep slipping 2 and knitting 4 all the way across after the first K4. You will be getting 4 stitches of the CB on your right hand needle (RHN) followed by 2 of CA, all the way across, ending with 4 of CB. You will just be working with the one color all the way across and you keep all of the ‘floats’ on the back of the piece (the purl side). That is row 3.

Row 4 is done the same way, but it is a little different. :slight_smile: The pattern doesn’t say to bring the yarn to the front to slip the 2 each time, but if you don’t bring the working yarn to the front and out of the way it will make a little strand of yarn going across the 2 stitches of CA in the front. It could be that that is what they want. Does the picture show clean lines of CB going across a background of CA, kind of like a line of hyphens - - - -? Or is there a little strand of yarn connecting all the hyphens to each other? I suspect it is the first choice. I think it looks better anyway.

To get that you need to bring the yarn to the front between the needles as if you were preparing to purl, then slip the 2 stitches of CA purl wise, then move the yarn to the back between the needle tips so you can knit the next 4 stitches. You will be working with the back side facing you and you will immediately see the little strand get carried across the side facing you (where all the others are) and if you turn the work over so the right side is facing you there are no floats (or strands) on that side.

For rows 5 and 6 (repeat rows 1 & 2) you are back where you can access the CA again and you do those two rows with CA because it doesn’t tell you to use any other color.

Rows 7 & 8 introduce Color C (CC) just leave a tail of it and start knitting. These two rows produce the same hyphens as rows 3 & 4 did, but they are off set between the others. Again on row 8 you will need to bring the yarn forward for the clean hyphens, then back again to knit so that all the floats end up on the back.

Rows 9-14 repeat rows 1-6 so you will use the colors given there. Rows 15-16 repeat rows 7 and 8 but with Color D. So you end up with one background color (CA) and hyphens of the other colors. You will never need to cut the CA, but if the others need to be carried too far up the side you will want to cut them and reintroduce them as needed. If you do that just leave a tail where ever you introduce a yarn and start knitting with it.

This kind of color work is a little like stranded knitting (or is a type of stranded knitting), when you slip the 2 stitches each time and then knit the first of the next 4 you want to make sure the little bit of strand of your working yarn that is being carried across the gap doesn’t get too short. You could accomplish this by stretching the work a little after you do the first of each group of 4 stitches.

5

okay thank you that helps a lot. Would you suggest using bobbins for the colors because my yarns keep getting twisted together and makes a big mess.

6

I have never used bobbins. If you have used them and like them or would like to try them that is probably a good idea. Another idea is to put each of the skeins in a sock. The sock with keep the skein from undoing and going all over the place and you will just have one strand of yarn coming out of it. You can more easily untangle the yarns while they are in the socks. Untangle often.

If you opt to cut the yarn colors fairly often (like after each two rows of its use for example), if you can accurately determine how many yards you need for each time you use the color you could cut the yarn in shorter lengths and use those. They are easier to untangle. That might be harder to figure on the back (how long a piece of yarn you need), but might work for the fronts if it is a cardigan. Just an idea. Do whatever works for you.

7

okay thank you, i do have to twist the yarns right?

8

If you carry the colors up the side and want to bring the one not in use up instead of cutting it, you can catch them in along the edge. It is not exactly twisting, you just pick the one you are using up so that it goes under the one not in use and brings it along. You don’t need to twist anywhere else in the pattern part if that is what you mean.

9

okay because the first color change row i twisted the yarns all the way across so if i dont twist them my yarns wont tangle as much right?

10

[FONT=“Comic Sans MS”][COLOR="#300090"]I don’t think you want to carry your main color A across (stranding) when you are working in color B (C or D).

Just let it hang on the right edge of the right side (left of the wrong side) where the starting tail of your new color B (C or D) hangs. Then after completing the two rows of a different color, you pick up CA that is just right there two rows below and right were you need it to start with.

The pattern of row colors (if you layed the edge horizontal) would be:

[FONT=“Lucida Console”][B][COLOR=“White”][/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Blue”]BB[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“SeaGreen”]CC[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Blue”]BB[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Purple”]DD[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Blue”]BB[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“seagreen”]CC[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Blue”]BB[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR]
[COLOR=“White”][/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Blue”]BB[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“SeaGreen”]CC[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Blue”]BB[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Purple”]DD[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Blue”]BB[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“seagreen”]CC[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR][COLOR=“Blue”]BB[/COLOR][COLOR=“Red”]AA[/COLOR]
[COLOR=“Red”]/[/COLOR][COLOR=“White”]¯[/COLOR][COLOR=“blue”]/[COLOR=“Red”]¯¯[/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=“SeaGreen”]/[COLOR=“Red”]¯¯[/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=“blue”]/[COLOR=“Red”]¯¯[/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=“Purple”]/[COLOR=“Red”]¯¯[/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=“blue”]/[COLOR=“Red”]¯¯[/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=“SeaGreen”]/[COLOR=“Red”]¯¯[/COLOR][/COLOR][COLOR=“blue”]/[COLOR=“Red”]¯¯[/COLOR][/COLOR][/B][/FONT]

So the distance is only ever two rows between use of color A but between stripes of B would be 6 rows and then 14 rows between C color stripes and also between the D color stripes.

– Jack[/COLOR][/FONT]

11

No, you don’t twist anything across the whole row. Like Jack said you are leaving each color at the side and starting a new color. You don’t need to twist anything across rows. The only place you would possibly twist anything would be at the edges to bring a color up from one row to another, and that isn’t really twisting either, but taking one color under another to catch it in. You should not have a problem with a lot of tangling except possibly in relation to having so many colors going, and some of those you will probably just want to cut instead of trying to carry them so far up the side.